Choosing an Analytical tool – Part 1- Omniture SiteCatalyst versus Google Analytics

VP of Marketing: “I know we need an analytics package to track the XYZ  Products website.  XYZ has been doing fine without web analytics, but my staff says we need it.  I don’t have much money to spend, so I’ve chosen Google Analytics, since it’s free.  We’ll make it work for us.”

This statement clearly shows some deficiencies in the decision-making process.  It’s apparent the VP doesn’t understand the value of analytics and that cost was the primary (and likely only) consideration.  In addition to increasing the likelihood of choosing a platform that isn’t functional for their business; this philosophy could impede the implementation process and lead XYZ to miss critical information.

When does it make sense to use and pay for Omniture SiteCatalyst versus using the Google Analytics free solution?

RiseInteractive, a marketing agency points out the key differences – There are many scenarios in which a detailed Cost Benefit Analysis may dictate that Omniture is the most cost effective solution.  Many of the scenarios would be unique to an industry, organization, or a specific website.  In this blog we’re going to discuss a few blanket scenarios where in most cases Omniture SiteCatalyst ends up being the most cost effective solution regardless of your unique situation.

 

As you can see, this client’s requirement for aggregated reports resulted in the need to hire a full-time employee, since the reporting and subsequent work-up will be much more intensive than offered by Omniture SiteCatalyst (where much/all of this can be automated).

In the end, RiseInteractive believes that Omniture is the better choice for this company.  Omniture SiteCatalyst is also often preferred if pulling analytical data from many third-party vendors as SiteCatalyst has developed extensive relationships with many Internet marketing platforms (e.g. E-mail platforms, Display Advertising Networks, and Social portals amongst others) and can automatically pull information from their APIs.  Google Analytics on the other hand usually requires extensive manual tagging in order to track most non-Google initiatives.

Author: Hassan Abbas

Marketing Professional